Wednesday, February 07, 2007

The Proms and British Musical Life

The British Library, King's College London and the BBC are pleased to announce details of the first international conference devoted to the Henry Wood Promenade concerts.

Historians, musicologists, practitioners, media commentators, cultural authorities, concert-goers and those interested in the Proms as an influential cultural phenomenon are invited to come together to consider the role the Proms play in British musical life, the history of musical performance, changing audience behaviour, patronage, cultural politics, and the BBC. More generally, the three-day conference provides an opportunity to reflect on the current status of classical music.

There will be lectures, discussions, demonstrations and papers on such subjects as the history of the Last Night; what the Proms sounded like in the early years; the build-up to the BBC taking over the running of the Proms in 1927; the wartime years; the Proms as a historic media event that is part of national life; the changing visions of the Proms on radio and television; legacies from Malcolm Sargent to William Glock; the cultural politics of the BBC; Englishness and multiculturalism; the impact of technology on the Proms and the future.

Oliver Knussen conducts the BBC Symphony Orchestra in a concert at the BBC's Maida Vale studios featuring music introduced to the British public at the Proms, including works by Julian Anderson, Frank Bridge, Benjamin Britten, Alexander Goehr, and Arnold Schoenberg.